Immigration Enforcement at LC Courthouse

Ron Beitler is a Lehigh County Comm'r. He's a Republican, by the way. He recently posted about how Lehigh County handles immigration enforcement. I'm going to share what he has said:

𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:

First background.

Lehigh County Commissioners do not set immigration policy, including anything involving ICE. That is the Federal government. For Lehigh County residents, that means Congressman Ryan Mackenzie, Senator John Fetterman, and Senator Dave McCormick contribute to those decisions.

Federal immigration policy intersects with Lehigh County in two areas:

• Lehigh County Jail

• Lehigh County Courthouses — Main and Historic

-The Courthouse is a public facility that contains both private and public areas.

This post deals with the Courthouses. Courthouse policies, protocols and operations are set exclusively by the President Judge in consultation with the District Attorney and County Sheriff. This is due to provisions of the State Constitution establishing an independent judiciary.

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀:

• ICE agents CAN legally make arrests in the Courthouse under applicable federal law — but only do so for people in the facility for criminal, not civil, matters.

• ICE agents do NOT wear masks in the Courthouse.

• ICE agents DO show identification.

• The County does NOT provide ICE with holding facilities in the Courthouses.

Court policy is designed to keep the Courthouse safe for hundreds of employees and visitors who use the facility daily. The President Judge and Sheriff are responsible for that safety. Specific security decisions and practices remain confidential for obvious reasons. Safety is the primary concern.

Per federal law, as a law enforcement agency, ICE is permitted to take individuals into custody in a manner laid out by federal law. (That law is NOT our jurisdiction)

**𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲: 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲** The President Judge, DA and Sheriff do not treat law enforcement agencies in the Courthouse differently based on jurisdiction. This means county and out-of-county municipal police, other county law enforcement (such as county detectives), out-of-county sheriffs, State Police, or federal agencies (such as the FBI, U.S. Marshals, Homeland Security, and ICE) are all treated the same.

𝗜𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴:

a. What is legal, based on applicable statutes and caselaw?

b. What is safe, with an emphasis on prevention being the best approach to ensure safety?

c. What manages risk most effectively?

I agree with this criteria.

Sheriff Hanna takes his responsibility to protect nearly 1000 employees and visitors each day very seriously. It’s a duty he will not compromise on. I completely agree.

Commissioner Antonio Pineda and I independently met with the President Judge, District Attorney, Sheriff and Court Administration to fact-find — to clearly understand what, if any, role we have, to be abel to dispel any bad information out there and lastly to establish a factual starting point for any conversations other Commissioners may attempt to move forward.